The quickest way to reach a goal is to make it something you’re moving toward. Without realizing their intentions, too many goal setters inadvertently focus more of their attention on some other thing they are trying to avoid or move away from. This is one reason why some goals are not realized. Fear of failure is another.

Fear of failure has the power to hijack goal achievement.

Fear of failure is one of human nature’s most popular fears. It has the power to sabotage many great ideas. Fear of failure has the power to hijack goal achievement. Failure can be the result of not accepting failure as feedback about what NOT to do next time. Failure can be the result of not learning from the same mistakes. Failure can be the result of not learning from the experience. Failure can be the consequence of not adapting to the changes that arise out of failure.

A conflict of focus creates self-sabotage. It reinforces fear of failure. A conflict of focus has the power to sabotage your goals.

If 100% of your focus is set on getting way from something then you have no focus left to concentrate on reaching your goal. If 50% of your focus is set on getting away from something then you have 50% left over to focus on reaching your goal. If you have 20% of your focus concentrated on getting away from something, you will have 80% of your focus left to concentrate on reaching your goal. 80% focus is certainly better than 20% or 50% but is it enough to reach your goal? What do you need to do to increase your focus on obtaining your goal? What do you need to do to decrease your focus on what you are trying to move away from?

Think about a genuine goal you want to obtain. If you could get it right the first time, without making any mistakes, what would you do? What would you try right now if you knew you could not fail?

From another perspective, if you don’t get it right the first time, and you make a mistake, then what will you do? What else could you try if you knew you were going to fail the first time?

The amount of attention paid towards a reaching a goal contributes to its realization. The amount of attention paid to getting away from something actually contributes to keeping you away from your goal because you are focused on the thing you are trying to avoid, instead of on the goal that you want to reach.

It is tempting to declare that the definition of failure is a failure. Failure is only failure when the benefits of failure are not realized.